2013 Wrap Up

(I wasn’t going to post this this year, because I’m still at my parents’ house and Luna is WonderWeeking and teething and it’s hard to find quiet time to get anything done, but you know? I really like the wrap up post, so I’m going to do it in bits throughout the day. I do NOT have the slideshow, though. Sorry. But I don’t have my pictures here. You’ll get a Luna slideshow on her birthday in a month or so (OMFG), so you can wait, yes?)

I got a new teaching job. Technically I taught last year, too but online, so I’m counting this as new. I had a girl flavor baby. I pushed the limits of sleep deprivation (more so than with Xander).

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Here are the “goals” I made last year: get back into shape post baby (combination of working out (I’m thinking pilates) and eating well), more writing and photography, more attitude adjustments as needed. I…didn’t really do any of this. See: had a baby, got a job. I would say that, yes, these are the same things I want to work on this year. I signed up to do this The Amazing Year Workbook 2014 to help me actually articulate my goals and try to set some tie to really focus on myself. I also joined a gym with a corporate discount via John’s work and conned talked a friend into joining with me for some accountability.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes! Me! Also my other friend had a baby girl a few months after Luna was born, AND my friend back in CA had a baby girl over the summer AND lots of my Pocket Friends had babies.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. What countries did you visit?

None.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

Here is what I said last year:

This answer will be much the same as last year. I want to maintain some sense of self that isn’t tied in to being a mom. I no longer feel like “just” a mom (can we all say AMEN), but I still don’t do a lot of stuff that reflects who I am apart from my child (soon to be children). I want to hold on to that internal, creative life, no matter how small it becomes with the new responsibilities of another newborn. I want to maintain relationships with MY friends, as women, not just as parents to Xander’s friends.

This year, again, is much the same. I’ve made steps – I’m working out of the home, I have attended some writing workshops to get back into some form of creativity, I’m working on strengthening and maintaining relationshps.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

February 2: Luna’s birth
December 27: My brother’s wedding

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Having Luna and starting the teaching job at the local college were both big achievements.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Lack of patience, again. But I am working on it, and improving (I think). I’m also not so great at being patient with MYSELF, which is something I really want to work on. On a more surface level, my house is a disgusting pigsty and man, do I need to get back to a regular cleaning routine (“back to” HAAA. Ha.).

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Just a bad ear infection, but nothing major.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

A few sessions with some house cleaners, hands down.

12. Where did most of your money go?

Random stuff, mostly kid related.

13. What did you get really excited about?

Having Luna, seeing my big brother get married.

14. What song will always remind you of 2013?

Little Talks. It’s a song I had liked, but Xander also learned how to operate iTunes and has been playing it NONSTOP for months now. It’s lost some of its bloom for me.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you: – happier or sadder? Happier. thinner or fatter? Thinner, I mean, I’m not pregnant, but I’m also at my heaviest non-pregnant weight. – richer or poorer? Financially poorer. (Always and forever).

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Taking time to myself – reading, writing, photos. Sleeping (ha). Getting out of the house. My homebody-ness is getting stronger each year.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Less berating myself for being “good enough.”

18. How did you spend Christmas?

In AL with my parents and brothers. It’s been a mixed bag. Great to be with everyone, but the travel this year was very hard (mostly because of the kids).

19. What was your favorite TV program? Probably the same as last year: Elementary and Person of Interest. The Daily Show.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

I didn’t do nearly as much reading as I’d hoped. But titles that stand out: Code Name Verity, Elanor and Park.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?

Anything that’s not The Wheels on the Bus.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

I don’t even know what I saw this year: The Hobbit, The Hunger Games (which is funny because these are the same two movies that I saw last year.)

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 34, and we had a nice, quiet night at the house with a really, really good cake.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Again, having some sort of creative project going.

25. Redacted for Stupidity

26. What kept you sane? My family. Reading. Twitter.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.

I learned a lot about myself as a parent this year, and parenting in general. That being a mom is an ongoing process – kids change, we change, everything changes. What works today may not work tomorrow, and it’s OK to “change your mind” about how to do things. That letting go of anger and irritation is challenging, yes, but not impossible, and so very worth it.